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The team from Charity Navigator, the nation's largest independent charity evaluator and leading donor advocate, shares their thoughts on emerging nonprofit-sector issues and offers tips to better inform your intelligent giving decisions.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Be Aware of Storefront Fundraisers

Have you ever walked out of your local grocery store and dropped a dollar or two in a donation bucket? Have you ever pondered over the thought of where your dollar might actually be going? Unfortunately, not all of those donation tables are there for the right reasons. Back in January of this year, a New Jersey couple posed as employees from a local veterans organization outside a Stop and Shop supermarket. Sadly, they presented fraudulent documents to the supermarket in order to get clearance.

They had set up their donation table like many reputable charities do, but they were not collecting money on behalf of the organization. They were pocketing the money all for themselves and had no correlation to the actual charity. Unfortunately, this was not the first time the couple had manipulated people into thinking they were actually donating to a good cause.The unrated organization, Adopt-a-Soldier Platoon, could not comment on the case because it was still not resolved in court.

As we’ve said before, dropping money in a bucket outside of a store may not always be the best way to give. But you can minimize your risk of getting scammed by taking the time to find great charities doing the work you want to fund and supporting them directly. Be aware and be smart when donating!